To Woo His Heart
by The Lady of the Willows
Summary: She has chased him and he has chased her, but the relationship between the two needs a few nudges. Who better than the witch of bad luck, Jinx, to help the assassin to woo his heart? CheshireSpeedy
1. Prologue

**To Woo His Heart**

**Prologue**

"Speedy."

Jinx had never been the sort of person to sit down and watch life go by without her--- or the type to sit back and watch a friend become consumed by worrying or confusion. At the moment, she was listening to a friend spill out romantic problems. _"Of course,"_ thought Jinx to herself, _"it is always the love problems people have so much trouble with."_

"He kissed me."

"I see," replied Jinx. She eyed the Asian assassin carefully, trying to see if she could detect any emotion. Annoyingly, there was none. "What did you do?"

"I stopped, naturally." The cat-masked girl's tone was a bit indignant, as if Jinx thought she would do anything else. "I was… on duty, after all."

That meant she had been on one of her jobs… as a thief, assassin, or whatnot. Jinx decided it was safer not to know so that she could truthfully claim she knew nothing of that. But as for the problems her friend had--- it was rather ironic that it would be _Cheshire_, of all people, to have the first maddening-obsessive love. She had been the one who always lived with herself and needed no one else… until now. Jinx had only met Cheshire when the Brotherhood of Evil had started their small party of teenaged hero elimination or whatever it had been called, but the assassin had made a lasting impression.

"But then he told me that he loved me… that he has loved me for a while and so on…" Cheshire paused here to sigh as she bent down to pick out another band for her hair. "He said he was tormented by my absence and how he was afraid my kiss would always be a scar upon his heart."

Jinx blinked. This was scaring her slightly, with the cat-masked assassin not being her usual stoic self. The untimely declaration she made next caused Jinx to lurch in surprise, spilling the tea onto the floor.

"I like them both!"

Little did the poor girl know that both were the same. Speedy was Roy Harper and Roy Harper was Speedy. Jinx debated with herself for a moment whether or not she should tell. Then, she remembered how vengeful the Asian female could be. If this assassin found out--- she might try to get some revenge on Speedy for not telling her everything. _"All right…" _thought Jinx. _"Two alternatives. One is that Speedy likes chasing many different girls, so he has no idea Jade and Cheshire are the same person. Or, as Alternative Number Two, he knows they are the same person which is why he is chasing her with both his civilian identity and his alias."_ She winced a little in anticipation of the pain Speedy would feel. Either way, it would most likely not be very good for him. With the first, Cheshire might feel that he had just been playing with her and with the second, Cheshire would feel that he had been deceiving her.

"And I do not know what I am going to do!" ended Cheshire.

Poor Chesh.

Something definitely had to be done.

The question was… what?

"And how long…" started Jinx before trailing off.

"For Speedy, since the first time I chased him. For Roy Harper, since I met him on the street. It has been a while for both, but my feelings have not really changed."

"Have you told them how you feel?"

Cheshire took off her mask to reveal misty green eyes. Obviously, tears of frustration. Jinx sighed in sympathy. "I cannot," stated the assassin. "For Speedy, he is a… hero. Just look at how Kid Flash's and your situation ended up."

The luck witch made a face. She recalled only too well how the romance with Kid Flash had ended up. He had become too… it might have been a mistake for her to get mixed up with him in the first place. On the other hand, it had been an excellent relationship while it lasted. And furthermore, their very relationship had been made up of quarrels and reconciliations. Jinx had no doubt that they would have another more friendly reunion eventually… he was probably just waiting for her to apologize to him for her last few particularly unkind remarks or until he got tired of waiting and came over. Whichever happened first. It was a sort of competition sometimes.

"And Speedy… just think of his nerve at pushing my mask aside slightly to kiss me! Of course, I clawed him after for taking such a liberty."

The mental image was rather amusing to Jinx, but she decided to proceed with questions. "What about the Roy Harper person?"

"What if he does not feel the same? And besides… my job does not allow for attachments. And this scares me."

"Well," started Jinx, "we will have to do something about this, will not we?"


	2. Chapter One: Pheromones

**Chapter One: Pheromones**

Friends were rare in Cheshire's current and Jinx's former industry, so both felt quite honored to have the other's friendship. The pink-haired witch fully intended to assist the assassin with the love problem. It provided her with something to do and it allowed her to feel that she was doing something nice for someone she cared about. Jinx knew very well how it felt to be stuck on one side of the good-evil war that seemed to always be on-going. Cheshire deserved something… and who knew? A little of this might bring turn the thief to another side of the leaf.

There was another reason. Personally, Jinx's heart was still hurt from her last argument with Kid Flash, which had ended rather painfully. Doing something like this for a friend, with mostly unselfish motives, would make her feel more that she belonged where she was. A strange mixture of no satisfaction and all confusion often came upon her after she was separated from her extremely good friend, Kid Flash. It was always during those small bits of time after a quarrel with him that she had little sense of direction… of reason…

Anyways, all that was why nighttime found Jinx hooded and walking through the slums of the city through darkened foggy streets. Although quite sure she could take care of herself, she was cautious and alert. Soon, she reached her destination and spoke in a soft whisper to a suspicious looking character. (He happened to be the former member of a crime ring who now continued to make a living in the best way he knew how: selling illegal substances.) The bad-luck witch reached a hand under her cloak and returned it to sight with a number of money notes. The suspicious looking character quickly counted it before placing a lavender-hued vial into the pale grey hands of the witch, and then disappeared into the shadows.

Bowing her head, the cloaked girl started on her way out of the rain-soaked streets and back to safer areas of the city.

* * *

When Cheshire came in the next day, along with a story of running into some trouble with the police force, Jinx was ready. During the Asian girl's requests for the witch to come with her on a trip to some place--- Jinx did not quite hear where--- a vial of lavender coloring was slipped into view on the table. As predicted, Cheshire asked what it was.

"It is a poison," replied Jinx.

The other girl remarked doubtfully, "I have never seen any poison like that."

"A poison for the heart."

At that answer, Cheshire blushed, something very uncommon to see.

"Anyways, I know just who to accompany you. I have a friend called Wally West, who knows Roy Harper---"

"What! You know someone who knows him!"

"Yes," replied Jinx, waving a hand as if to push away her friend's last statement. "And I could probably get it so that the three of you go off together on that trip to… wherever it was."

The cat-masked assassin felt a bit insulted that Jinx had not been listening much, but she pushed those feelings away and picked up the vial to inspect it. It was a very simple clear vial that looked as though it was made of glass. The liquid inside was a pleasant soft lavender. Instructions on a small tag were attached to the vial with a thread. Upon further examination, Cheshire discovered that the instructions were not in a language she could understand. "I cannot read this language," she sighed.

"Apply to exterior part of body. If irritation occurs, discontinue use."

"You memorized it."

"Naturally," said the pink-haired witch with a smile. "Do not worry. It is just some pheromones."

"A chemical compound… produced and secreted by animals… influences behavior and development of other members of the same species…" muttered Cheshire half to herself.

"It requires for something to already be there to fan the flame. If nothing is there, nothing can grow," added the buyer of questionable substances.

The other girl nodded, only half-listening.

_"Oh, well,"_ thought Jinx. _"I hope nothing bad happens. What I mean is, nothing bad had better happen…"_

* * *

The next day, Cheshire, in the form of Jade Nguyen, was waiting for a Wally West and a Roy Harper at a train station. She felt oddly revealed and vulnerable without her mask or her claws, but she needed to take this trip to do something… and she wanted to see Roy Harper. When she noticed two people walking towards her, she dipped her right index finger into the lavender and then drew her right hand through her dark hair while re-closing the vial with her left. At that moment, two redheads walked up to her.

"Hello, Roy," she said softly.

"Wonderful to see you again, Jade," replied Roy. "Let me introduce Wally."

"I heard you know Jinx," remarked the boy. Unlike most heroes or villains, Jinx used her usual name as her alias.

Cheshire nodded and, at the same time, Roy leaned over to her face and was almost close enough to kiss her cheek, though he did not actually do so. Something in the assassin was touched, and she blushed. But suddenly, he backed away and started sneezing.

* * *

Two days later, Jinx and Cheshire were seated together and drinking tea. "…and then he backed away and was sneezing violently, as though he was madly allergic to something." Jinx opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it and just poured another cup of tea for her companion. "Jinx, Roy was allergic to those pheromones! He had to stay behind and get treated. I was stuck with your friend, Wally, for the entire trip."

Jinx winced slightly, understanding how being with such an energetic person might annoy someone as introverted as Cheshire. So mayhap the plan had not gone as planned. "I am so sorry, Chesh," sighed Jinx as she reached for the sugar.

"No more ideas," sighed the assassin as she tossed a vial of lavender hue to Jinx. 


	3. Chapter Two: Hypnotism

**Chapter Two: Hypnotism**

"Hypnotism."

Cheshire blinked at the thought of hypnotizing someone. She knew a little about the topic, but failed to see how it would help her in the quest to improve her love life. Oh, well… Jinx would probably say more to explain.

"People rarely lie under hypnotism," continued the other girl. "They tell what their sub-conscious is thinking."

The assassin raised an eyebrow, knowing quite well it was visible since she was not wearing a mask. "And who will do the hypnotizing?"

The pink-haired witch smiled and then looked directly at her Asian companion. "Hum… you."

"Me?" gasped Cheshire, more than a bit mortified at the idea. Since her training had revolved around more… definite things, she had never learned much of magic, such as Jinx's brand, psychicism, such as Psimon's sort, or hypnotism, which is what they were discussing now. She had no experience in the matter, which made it even more probably that she might fail. The other thing was that she distrusted it. It was simply not tangible enough to be understood.

"Of course. Just find a situation with him, and then…" Jinx waved a hand in the air. "…there it goes."

Though she now knew that Jinx was serious, the assassin still failed to understand what purpose hypnotism would serve in the situation. "So what am I hypnotizing him into doing?"

Jinx gave her a look that said you ought know and I hope that was a rhetorical question, but I will answer it for amusement, anyways. "Into confessing his feelings for you. Then, you know he was honest about what he said." She reached into a pocket and withdrew a small box of sorts. "This object came directly from India. I obtained it a while ago. They say that when a certain combination of notes are heard from it, the target falls into a temporary hypnotic trance."

Cheshire accepted the item and slipped it into somewhere within her robes. Although she had her doubts about it, she decided that since Jinx had so kindly taken the trouble to offer this, it might as well be tried.

* * *

A few days later, Cheshire was fighting with Speedy in the forest again. She had been scouting the area for a future theft that would take place the next day when an arrow was shot at her. It seemed that Speedy always made it his business to chase her and rarely called back-up--- as though he were claiming her as his. It was all to her advantage, because she knew how to remove him from the game. His primary and only weapon was the bow. When it was broken, he tended to throw the arrows, which was considerably less effective than shooting them. However, for that to happen, he still had to have access to the quiver on his back.

She ducked at the arrow went flying above her head, already planning the rest of the battle. He drew his bow again and shot into the trees, this time towards her feet. She dodged it again and jumped to another tree, throwing a few needles at the same time. In the time he spent moving to avoid the missiles, she came down to the ground for a closer fight. It was more difficult to fight at close range for a bowman. Cheshire swung one clawed hand at her opponent, but he leapt nimbly out of the way.

_"I must break his bow or get it out of his reach,"_ thought the assassin to herself and she calculated possible outcomes and paths. She backed out of reach as he attempted to kick her knee. He was staying away from trees, for he had learned the danger of getting backed against them as the result of more than one battle with the Asian female. Suddenly, she smiled. Her needles were not strong enough to cut through the branches of the trees in their current environment, but her claws were. It could create a distraction for her to get away or--- actually, she might want to try using the present she had received.

Breaking out of the pattern that had emerged of dodging, blocking, and attacking in a dance on the ground, she leapt up and clawed through the branches above his head. Apparently, he had not learned not to stand under trees even though he had learned not to be backed against them. As Speedy swept a hand around futilely attempting to clear his vision, she jumped on him and pushed his bow away at the same time. The assassin pinned his arms to the ground with her feet and sat back against his legs.

Now that she had him on the ground, it was time to make use of Jinx's suggestion. Making sure the archer was securely caught under her heels, Cheshire pulled the instrument out from her robes and played the pitches she was supposed to before tucking it back into her sash. After a few moments of listening, Speedy's original dumbfounded expression passed and he looked blankly ahead.

"What do you like?" asked the assassin.

"My bow," replied the archer.

Cheshire frowned slightly behind her mask. "What person do you like?"

"An assassin."

"Does the assassin have a name?"

"Cheshire."

"Why do you like Cheshire?"

"She always manages to hit me. Sometimes, I can see up her robes."

The female narrowed her eyes and swallowed angrily behind her mask. Inside, she wondered if he really could see up her robes. But since he was hypnotized and was supposed to be telling the truth, she decided that he was telling the truth. This did not please her at all. She decided to ask one more question before injuring the hypnotized boy, to give him a chance to redeem himself. "Are you sorry when it happens?"

"No, not at all," said the other.

That unfortunate reply decided his fate. The answer should have been something along the lines of "Yes, it is always accidental."

Suddenly, Cheshire was aware she was currently in a situation and position that made it possible for her opponent to see up her robes, even if he was not aware that he could do so due to the trance he was in. With a growl, Cheshire retracted her claws and then leaned forward to slap Speedy in the face. Still not entirely conscious, he lay limp under the abuse. Taking advantage of that, she then kicked him. It felt satisfactory after the little interview, but she had to do more… so she clawed his uniform until part of it was mostly shreds and then broke his bow and tossed it on the masked male.

With a final disgusted look at the now rather shabby looking hero, she leapt into a tree and rushed away.

* * *

"Speedy is a pervert," concluded Cheshire coldly when she returned to her friend.

"I suppose all of the hero types have something to be desired… they get bad flaws to make them seem more human," mused Jinx. It was a pity about Speedy. She had heard from Cyborg how Bumblebee had found Speedy lying in the forest under a tree with red marks across his face, a torn-up uniform, and some superficial injuries, though the boy was otherwise unharmed. When questioned, the archer had no idea how he had gotten there or he chose not to speak of it. Jinx suspected it might be the second reason.

"How do you stand them?" demanded the assassin as she slammed her teacup on the table in slight fury.

"I sort of ignore them at times," admitted the witch, conveniently ignoring the fact that for every hero who was a pervert, self-righteous to an extreme, or other such, there was a villain who was a mad genius, very prideful, or something similar. It was a sort of balance that existed. At any rate, it would not have fit the conversation.

Cheshire gave a burst of dry laughter in response. 


	4. Chapter Three: Drunk

**Chapter Three: Drunk**

"I have another idea," started Jinx.

Cheshire stopped what she was doing suddenly and turned to her friend in half horror. Although she was sure Jinx meant well, the last ideas offered had not turned out that well. Truth be told, she was a bit anxious about what the next suggestion might be.

"And I did think this over more than once," added the pink-haired witch.

The assassin was silent for a moment before replying, "Yes?"

"Do you remember the saying about the way to a man's heart being through the stomach?"

Cheshire hoped very much that her friend was not suggesting that she cook. Although the assassin was reasonably good at making food, it was more along the lines of smoked fish or bear stew. More like survival skills for the wilderness than for romance. It was important to know how to make enough food to sustain oneself in different environments. Fish tended to be plentiful in many places, so she knew how to gut and smoke them, and rabbits, bears, and other furry creatures tended to be about the same when dead, so she knew how to make stews or salt them.

"Well, the two of you could have a nice, home-cooked dinner."

"I… see…" replied the Asian assassin hesitantly.

"You do not sound very convinced," noted Jinx.

"My cooking is more suited for a camping trip in the middle of the forest," admitted Cheshire with a rueful smile.

The cat-eyed witch laughed slightly as the image of Cheshire sitting by a forest fire having a feast of wild animals with came to her mind. "Well, you can get an interesting assortment of food. Take some wine with you, too."

"Wine?"

"Yes, wine. And wear something nice. It is lucky you live in the same building, so it is easier for me to help."

* * *

Two or three evenings later, Roy Harper found himself inside Jade Nguyen's apartment. The place was rather unassuming and humble, but the table in the Dining Area was dressed up with some fine linens and lace. Some delicious looking dishes were laid out on the table, along with a bottle of wine. The lighting source was two candles. This was most definitely supposed to be a romantic moonlit dinner.

Cheshire was dressed casually in a modest outfit of black. Anything that could possibly betray her non-civilian identity--- claws, needles, poison--- were being temporarily stashed at Jinx's residence. Well, most of it. Growing up in the environment she had, the assassin felt uncomfortable without some type of protection against possible attacks. So, a sewing kit was set out in the sitting area along with a pincushion full of pins and needles. She could be very resourceful when it was called for.

"Please, be seated," said the female, gesturing to a chair.

Speedy did so. "Thank you for having me over, Jade."

"Of course…" she murmured as she seated herself directly across from him. "Care for some wine?" she offered.

The archer swallowed. "Yes, please."

Cheshire tipped the bottle and poured some of the contents into his glass. "So, Roy, how did your allergies turn out?"

"Ah, that. They said it was most likely something in the air. I think."

"I see. I am pleased that you are well."

"As am I," replied the red-haired boy. He took a draught from his glass before querying, "So how did your trip go?"

"It went well. Wally was nice company."

Speedy glanced at her suddenly, a bit annoyed at her statement. "Was he?" he asked carefully.

"Indeed."

"I see." The bowman fumed inwardly, but he tried not to show it and sampled the food.

Cheshire fought to hide a smile at the emotions she could see on his face. It was quite clear that he was not very favorably inclined towards her kind remark about his friend, even though it was a compliment to a close companion. _"A bit selfish with people, are you?"_ she thought to herself. He obviously liked having the full attention of female company. "I would have preferred having you along," she continued.

He brightened up at that.

"More wine?" she questioned.

"Yes, please."

Their night continued that way, with bits of conversation about various subjects. At times, the topics became a bit dangerous to one or both of the parties; so a little falsifying had to be tolerated. Roy learned that Jade had a sewing kit in her sitting area because that was her hobby and she intended to re-work an old jacket. Jade discovered that Roy enjoyed occasional spars with friends, which explained the injuries and slight bruises on parts of his body. They both learned that they spent their free time running around, though both opted to keep the reason why as a secret of sorts from the other.

Eventually, Speedy had poured himself his seventh glass of wine. Added to the two Cheshire had given him, it was nine altogether. It was around this point in time that she noted he looked… not quite awake.

"Roy, are you all right?" she asked concernedly.

"Yes…" he drawled. He tried to stand up, but he fell heavily to the floor.

The assassin got out of her seat and hurried over to her companion. He was unconscious. In spite of all the experience and knowledge of poisons stored in her mind, Cheshire had never had much contact with alcohol. It was simply something she did not expect to encounter. So, she wondered what to do next. This was unplanned, so she hurried over to Jinx's apartment to get assistance.

The witch came over as soon as she heard the worry in her friend's voice, but snorted in amusement when she saw the archer lying on the floor. She had a good idea of what had happened. "He is drunk," explained Jinx after she had inspected the sleeping body of her fellow hero.

"Drunk," repeated Cheshire in a monotone, a bit unbelieving of the situation. She had heard of the condition before, but had never quite understood what went on with it. Her own instructor did not drink and when she assassinated drunken people, the deaths happened too quickly to note their behavior.

"Yes," confirmed the other female. "What happened? How many glasses of wine?"

"He had nine. I had two."

"Definitely drunk," sighed Jinx.


	5. Chapter Four: Vacation

**Chapter Four: Vacation**

After the disappointment resulting from the last three ideas, Jinx was sorely pressed to offer a fourth suggestion. This one would have to be considered carefully, as "four" was pronounced synonymously to "death" in several Asian languages. She did not want this plan to be the end of the strange relationship between Cheshire and Speedy.

Finally, an idea came to her one afternoon when she was cozily curled up at her tea table, with a magazine borrowed from Starfire, who tended to try and fit with the strange alien world she was on by seeing what the current trend was. The magazine was full of silly articles, such as a nonsense-filled "How to Get Him to Confess", a rather prosaic "Alone in an Elevator With Him! What do I do?", and other words put into useless paragraphs… all written to try and help young females find a romance. Although the publication was more suited for the refuse pile, there was just a pinch of merit to be found. It was mildly disturbing to find that grain of truth in trash, but even myths had some basis in facts.

"Ah!" exclaimed the witch in triumph. Unfortunately, she accidentally shot a stream of her magic into the door at the same time. It broke off its hinges and would have made its way to the wall across had not someone caught it.

The assassin, who had been behind the door, looked curiously at her friend. Naturally, she threw the door to the side before speaking, as it was quite awkward to hold a six-foot-tall piece of wood and speak from behind it. "Er…" she started.

"Come in, Jade."

Cheshire did so, though she lifted an eyebrow inwardly that Jinx would be inviting her into her own quarters without saying anything else. Judging from the unmistakably devious smile on the luck witch's face, there was most certainly something planned.

And there was.

"You need a vacation, Cheshire. I am going to get a ticket for a helicopter ride to… well, never mind. A vacation spot." Jinx would definitely arrange it so that the helicopter would be guarded by a certain red-haired, bow-wielding hero.

* * *

"Welcome to Jump City airport! Ah, Miss Jade Nguyen? And your companion? Her name is Jinx? Wonderful, wonderful! Come along! We hope you have enjoyed the facilities so far? Everything accessible? Place easy to find?" The man went on and on.

Jinx and Cheshire exchanged amused glances with each other at the enthusiastic demeanor of the person who had met them. In a strange way, it was very nice to have someone so delighted to see them without having manipulated the person to be friendly. Jinx had experienced it more often since her change to somewhat-hero, but Cheshire had not such an amusing situation in quite a while.

A short while later, the two friends said their farewells. "Farewell! enjoy yourself!" cried Jinx as she watched Speedy disappear into the front. Speedy was in hero disguise, having heard from a reliable source that there were rumors that the helicopter may be sabotaged on its way to some island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean so that some nefarious individual could obtain possession of a Miss Jade Nguyen's magical sewing needles. It sounded quite ridiculous, but Jump City had more than its fair share of unusual villains.

"Farewell!" answered Cheshire, shouting the word so as to be heard over the choppers revolving, as she stepped into the helicopter. She would not see Jinx in a while, because Cheshire had been told to return to Asia in five or six days. It so happened that the vacation would last five days.

Jinx eyed the machine as it took off into the sky. There was nothing to betray the fact that there would be… unplanned mechanical errors once the pair arrived at the rather sparsely populated island. She had thought this over a while and then made her decision with a quick, surreptitious bolt of pink. She understood enough about machinery to believe that though there might be minor problems, nothing too bad would happen. However, with Jinx around, probability tended to lean towards one side of the spectrum.

* * *

"Good day, Jade."

Cheshire had been surprised to hear herself being addressed to familiarly by a stranger when she realized just who was piloting the aircraft. She contemplated the possibility of punishing the pilot when she realized just who it was.

His introduction confirmed it.

"I am Speedy."

Just what had happened to the original pilot? Cheshire, never one to be unprepared for accidents, had researched the craft and its pilot. The craft was correct, but the pilot was supposed to be a man in his thirties who had an impeccable record. What Cheshire did not know was that the man, hearing that the craft he was supposed to fly had a villain intending to cross it, was currently with his wife and a child at home, rejoicing that it had been seen fit that someone more suited to fighting super-powered villains had replaced him. Apparently, that someone was Speedy.

"I am here for security reasons."

Was this familiarity how Speedy acted with all the females he met? The thought made her rather furious. There was nothing like an icy demeanor to hide a fiery wrath, so she adopted an impassive façade as she let herself appear to idly observe him. Then, still irate over his familiar address, Cheshire answered coldly, "Thank you for accompanying me. Please call me Miss Nguyen."

Speedy, over where he was piloting the craft, was momentarily stunned at her frostiness. He remembered her as being quite friendly-- when he was being Roy Harper, at least. For a moment, he wondered if he could go back to being Roy Harper, but he realized that would give away his identity. "Of course, Miss Nguyen. My apologies." To his credit, he did sound repentant.

Cheshire nodded coolly. "What do you mean when you say security reasons?" she inquired. She had not known anything of a security risk when she had done her preparation research. Cheshire thought that her performance must have been poor this time, as she had not even known that Speedy, of all people, would be the pilot. Of course, she had no way of knowing that Jinx, who, having once been an earnest villain-in-training, understood Cheshire's precautions and caution about the precautions, had made sure that Cheshire would not find the change in pilot until after the assassin boarded the helicopter by sending the reports about an alleged attempt of sabotage until nearly the last minute. Naturally, such a thing would not have been in the databases when Cheshire had hacked in the first time, a few days ago, or the second time, a few hours previous.

"Do not be alarmed," assured Speedy, thinking that Jade had become frigid to hide her fear of someone coming after her. "I have it all under control."

That was too little information for an assassin used to her success depending on availability of data. "Please tell me the situation," she said in a gentler tone, hoping to sway the masked hero to tell her more.

Speedy glanced uncomfortably at the water below them. He was not foolish enough not to realize Jade's game, but whether or not he would humor her was different. With an unusually responsible-sounding voice, he said, "Apparently, rumors have circulated that you have some magical sewing needles, Miss Nguyen. Some parties have been interested in obtaining them. Following a credible report, I came to protect and pilot."

Magical Sewing Needles? Cheshire paled for just a moment before regaining her color. Although she did use needles as weapons occasionally and most certainly did not have any magical needles, the only way someone could link combative needles of any type to her civilian identity was if someone had traced her. She was getting careless. It seemed that she had not only made mistakes in her data gathering, but also in basic hiding. "I see," she answered shortly.

The trip went without any more conversation after that exchange. Cheshire was occupied by her replays of the last few days and wonderments of when and how she had made her errors, and Speedy was lost in thoughts of just how he should present himself to the lovely Miss Jade Nguyen. They were both silent as they considered their important matters with great gravity.

It was mildly shocking when Speedy suddenly noticed that there was someone chasing the aircraft. He had been prepared for the possibility and immediately pulled out his Titans communicator to call for help. Unfortunately, it was jammed. He thrust it back into its place, frustrated with the situation. After a surreptitious peek at Miss Nguyen, who he was relieved to see did not seem aware of the new situation, he turned and moved towards a closer island so as to quickly land and face the enemy on foot. Speedy was not as well-acquainted with aerial combat as he was with other types, so he would much prefer to face any prospective opponents on land.

However, Cheshire had honed her situational awareness. Even lost in her thoughts and fears of failure, she was able to notice craft trailing her helicopter. She had also seen Speedy's somewhat worried glance at her; she knew the expression even if he was slightly masked. It was touching, but there were other things to worry about. Who was this opponent trailing them, and what should she do? Supposing that they were attacked, Cheshire could not be expected to not defend herself. However, if she did defend herself, she was certain that Speedy would recognize her movement patterns-- and that would be the end of the secret as to who was behind the mask of the Cheshire Cat.

The sound of an explosion far too near quickly shook the assassin out of her thoughts. "We have to abandon this, Jade," shouted Speedy, temporarily deafened. He had decided that it was too late for the passenger not to know. "Communications are jammed! We are going to land down there!"

Cheshire noted with a vague part of her mind that he had forgotten to address her as "Miss Nguyen", but she chose to ignore it, what with the pressing trouble at hand.

Silently, she waited for them to land.


	6. Chapter Five: Tense

Author's Note: Let me make a few more notes before continuing. First, entering is one Original Character for Plot Purposes. Second, there is one more chapter and an epilogue left. Third... the curiosity of why Cheshire knows both Speedy and Roy Harper has come up several times and will be explained in the epilogue.

**Chapter Five: Tense**

"I have not heard from Speedy," said Bumblebee. She sounded worried.

Jinx sighed before turning her focus back to the only female classmate from the academy who was still in contact. It was terrible. The remains of the helicopter had been found drifting, and Cheshire had disappeared. The thought that Speedy might be having some time with the assassin was not as soothing as it should have been, because if they were both kidnapped and being held hostage together… well, there was one possibility. "Has he been kidnapped and is he being held hostage?"

Bumblebee stared with great surprise at the image of Jinx in her communicator. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Jinx! Jinx!" interrupted an excited voice.

It was the owner of the communicator which Jinx held in her hand.

The luck-witch sighed as she suddenly noticed none other than Kid Flash stuck in the traps she had put around her apartment. It had been an idea to leave signatures of her magic around her living area so that unexpected guests could not enter without her knowledge and consent. The only way one could get around the magical signatures required that one also have magical powers. Extremely fast movement did not qualify.

A sudden dry snap that indicated the magical power in use twisting against itself interrupted the conversation with Bumblebee further. It was followed by, "Jinx! Help me!"

"Sorry, Bumblebee," apologized Jinx before she left to free her on-and-off companion from a now-visible ward of glowing pink. Luckily, Kid Flash was quickly freed, leaving Jinx able to return to her communicator, in which the image of a rather amused Bumblebee waited. "All right. So what do I have to do with it?" Jinx assumed, rightly, that none of the Teen Titans knew that she had falsified the report about one needle-obsessed villain with a weakness to long-range attacks being after one Miss Jade Nguyen.

Bumblebee became serious once more. "As I was saying, your report was correct."

Jinx blinked.

"Someone attacked the aircraft Speedy was piloting. We found the remains of it in the ocean, but Speedy and Jade Nguyen are nowhere to be found. We cannot contact Speedy's communicator, either. You have--"

"You have been assigned to come with me and find them!" interrupted Kid Flash, once again displaying his not-so-excellent manners. There was worry mixed with the enthusiasm, though, and that bit of concern was what kept Jinx from snapping a harsh reply.

"Yes," confirmed Bumblebee. "You have the long-range attacks and Kid Flash could probably move fast enough to dodge. Everyone else who is capable is currently occupied."

Since Jinx and Kid Flash were currently at the "off" part of their on-and-off companionship, Jinx was not so pleased with this recent development. However, she saw the need to find her friend and her friend's friend, so she did not complain. Friends were far more important than a romantic disagreement.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cheshire and Speedy were stuck on a deserted island. On the same island was one needle-obsessed villain with a weakness to long-range attacks who was after one Miss Jade Nguyen. Naturally, there was not enough room on the small island for all of them, so someone had to go. At the moment, Cheshire was wishing that it would be Speedy, because, as much as she liked him, she could not reveal her abilities while he was present.

"I am very sorry, Miss Nguyen," apologized Speedy as he latched an arrowhead to a shaft he had just carved.

Cheshire acknowledged the apology with a nod. He had gone back to addressing her as suited their acquaintanceship. "Tell me, Speedy, why is that arrow normal when you have more… varied arrows in your quiver."

Speedy looked up in surprise and accidentally looped the air with the thin string he was using. "I did not know that you were interested in such things," he remarked.

The assassin simply smiled.

It was not an unpleasant smile, but Speedy suddenly found that he was feeling… anxious. It was as though there was something which he ought remember about smiles. Instead, he continued with, "I make my arrows myself, but sometimes, one of my friends will imbue one with some magical properties."

"Why not do it yourself?" asked Cheshire, as a plan began to form in her head.

The red-haired youth looked mildly embarrassed at the question. "I cannot use magic," he explained bluntly.

If Speedy could not use magic, which Cheshire had already suspected from her studies, it was likely that he could not sense magic, either. However, to assume without solid proof could be her undoing. "Oh," she answered with a practiced sigh of disappointment. "I found these needles, and I was hoping if someone could tell me whether or not they are magical."

"I cannot really sense magic," he admitted.

It was perfect. "I received them as a gift from someone who told me that only females with a skill for sewing could use them in the truest way," fabricated Cheshire, using her training in speech to her full advantage. "They sometimes seem to direct my fingers when I sew, or it might just be me and my superstition." She sighed, a studied action which the other did not note. If the need came, she could attack with the needles and claim that it felt like she was being directed. She could easily dispose of the needles before anyone else could inspect them.

Speedy could not deny that he felt more comfortable now that Jade seemed more like herself, but the idea of needles which sounded like they possessed any female users troubled him. Without thought, he said, "Jade, I think those needles are unsafe. Do not use them. I can protect you."

Cheshire, unfortunately, was not the type of person to enjoy being protected by another. As an assassin, she was used to protecting herself-- not having someone else protect her. Her eyes narrowed for just a moment as she ended the conversation quietly with, "Thank you." She decided that she would have to leave at the earliest opportunity to resolve the matter herself.

* * *

At the same time, on the same island, Kana the Sharp, an younger apprentice with whom Cheshire was on somewhat friendly terms, was seeking Cheshire in order to warn that chasing her was one needle-obsessed villain with a weakness to long-range attacks.

Cheshire's teacher had been monitoring his student's journey at certain points. When the assassin had told her teacher that she would be taking a trip to an island in the Pacific, he had done checks even after the helicopter left-- which was how he discovered that Cheshire was likely to be attacked by some unknown entity. Upon hearing the news, Kana's master, a comrade and current ally of Cheshire's teacher, had told Kana to disable the helicopter Cheshire was in so that the assassin would survive, but not so that the helicopter could still fly a long way. With Kana's aerial combat skill, it had been simple. However, the disabling of the helicopter was merely a ploy to prevent it from reaching its destination, in case the person targeting Cheshire's civilian identity had an ambush waiting at the end. It also served a double purpose of letting the unknown entity know that another party objected to and had thwarted its goals.

She had accomplished the first part of her task, in accordance with the plan. The second part was to track down Cheshire and warn her of the danger. The apprentice had been warned not to directly contact Cheshire because a "hero", an archer with the moniker Speedy, had been aboard the helicopter as its pilot. The Cheshire Cat could not bear her grin or defend herself while this individual was still about.

It would be a difficult task, but Kana felt that she was up to it. It would require a bit of planning. For example, her abilities were a poor match for Speedy's, as she favored close-combat fighting and was extremely weak at long-range. If she wished to incorporate a battle between them into the plans, she could not confront him on even ground. With these and other similar thoughts in mind, Kana began tracking the marooned duo.

* * *

With the benefit of Kid Flash's unusual speed, Jinx and Kid Flash soon arrived on one of the many possible islands which Speedy and Jade Nguyen were suspected of being on. They split up at this point to search separately. Coincidentally, Jinx had ended up on the very island Cheshire was on. It so happened that Jinx arrived on this island in the morning, which was when several other important and interesting things happened.

That very morning, Cheshire silently left Speedy, slipped into her assassin disguise which had been in her pack, and began seeking out whomever sought her and her "magical sewing needles". She was used to working as a one-person team, and she was deeply bothered by this threat on her life which she had not known of. It was necessary that she, by herself, find the problem and eliminate it.

That very morning, Speedy awoke from a deep dream of being marooned on an island with the one he admired, discovered that he really was marooned on an island but without the one he admired, and promptly began searching Miss Nguyen, who had either slipped away or been kidnapped. Since Speedy could not fathom why she would possibly want to brave the island alone without his protection, he decided that she must have been kidnapped. As an honorable hero, he could not leave a lady in distress alone, so he had to rescue her.

That very morning, Kana finalized her plan to warn Cheshire, arose from her meditation inside her hastily drawn meditative circle, and began hunting Speedy to give him with temporary paralysis. Speedy could not be permitted to interrupt her conversation with Cheshire. With resolution in her step, she prepared herself for the difficult battle ahead.

And, around this point, that very morning, Jinx noticed a trace of Kana's meditation circle drawn in the sand, realized that it was most certainly not a creation of Cheshire or Speedy, and began chasing this unknown entity. Whomever had drawn the circle was likely to be the culprit of the attack on Cheshire and Speedy's craft. It had endangered the assassin and the archer's lives, so Jinx was going to hunt down this person and show this person, whoever it was, that no one messes with anyone whom Jinx has declared a friend.

So it was, that four individuals followed each other around the island. Unfortunately, as they were all moving at the same rate, not a single one of them caught up to anyone else.


	7. Chapter Six: Unwinding

**Chapter Six: Unwinding**

It was towards lunchtime that Kana finally caught up to Speedy and managed to surprise him with a weak blow which would have done him little, if any, damage. He dodged it easily. The only reason she had found him was because Speedy had stopped briefly for lunch, being quite hungry, and been eating nutritional bar which had been found inside his pocket. By the time Kana sent a second blow with a fatally sharp dagger, Speedy had taken out his bow. She had surprised him, but he was prepared now.

Kana smiled slightly, her painted bone-white face stretching to allow the curve. She was weak compared to many others, but she was not given the name "Kana the Sharp" simply because of her honed blades. Her wits were honed, too, though at the expense of physical training. Before beginning with the surprise attack, she had arranged a series of traps around the eating hero, one of which he would inevitably stumble into if he tried to escape, unless he dove underground. And none of the data she had on him had indicated that he was able to instantaneously do so.

"Come out!" Speedy shouted strongly, with an arrow cocked to his bow.

The apprentice smiled and sent a needle flying past Speedy's arm. It imbedded itself in the trunk of a young tree. "Here I am!" she answered with a laugh in her voice. Of course, with her weaknesses, she would not dare give out her position. Luckily, ventriloquism was very useful. She twitched a finger. The string around it led to a branch, and the movement rustled the leaves where she had thrown her voice.

Speedy shot a normal arrow in the direction he had heard the voice come from, and then watched the movement of the leaves. He got hit by the next needle, which came from a completely unexpected angle. Was she able to teleport herself? The voice had definitely been female, so he assumed that his opponent was female. It seemed that this might be the person who desired Jade's magical sewing needles. "Show yourself!"

When the tip missed her, the apprentice's silver lips curved in amusement. This was an exercise in agility and precision. She was rather poor at it when hurried, but when she was in control of time, she did well. "I have," answered Kana as she moved position, rustling leaves in several places-- all of which she was not in-- at once. It was too risky to remain in her first position. She threw two needles this time, both dipped in paralysis poison, and quickly moved position again.

"What tricks are these?" Speedy complained as he dodged them both and shot an icy arrow where they had originated. Then, when three needles came at him, tips glistening with some liquid poison, he rolled out of the way. A fourth suddenly appeared, but he managed to block it with his bow. Then, he regained his footing and shot a flaming arrow where he judged the needles to have come from.

This time, it was Kana who barely dodged the attack. The ice had passed harmlessly, but the fire had burned. The strings attached to her fingers caught on fire, and she quickly cut the strings before the flames could trace her to her new hiding place. She jumped to another branch just as the one below her broke.

Speedy watched as five fiery lines, each attached to various places in the trees but all merging at one point, appeared above him and then fell limply, as though cut. He realized that she had used those strings to move the leaves and thus leave him unable to correctly guess where she was. "Your strings are gone!" he shouted as he shot the branch he thought she might be on. "Come out now."

Kana deeply wanted to retort something, but she knew better than to speak without reason before the foe was defeated. She lithely leapt down behind him, the sounds of branches he had shot cracking and falling, hiding the sound of her impact against the forest floor. He spun just a bit too slow, and she pushed a needle into his thigh. As paralysis overtook him, he stiffened and fell. With the opponent out of the battle, Kana felt that she could make her reply.

"My strings may be gone, but I am not."

* * *

While wandering about the island, Cheshire had come upon remains from the other two, less careful females. To be precise, she had found Kana's meditation circle in the sand and one of Jinx's footprints not washed away by the water. Being observant, Cheshire had immediately noticed both. While usually annoyed with lack of skill, she found herself thankful this time for more pieces to the puzzle. Kana and Jinx were both on the island. With this new piece of information in hand, she tried to come to a conclusion.

One possibility-- and the most likely-- was that Kana, who was fond of needles and imprecise when hurried if in long-range combat, had been after her to deliver a message and the Teen Titans had mistaken her intentions as being ill. To protect civilian Jade Nguyen, from possible interception by an unknown party, Speedy had been dispatched. To get Cheshire alone, Kana had disabled the helicopter. After that happened, Jinx had been instructed to come and look for the helicopter's missing passengers.

But where did magical sewing needles or Jinx's trumpeted plans for a vacation come in? There was no logical explanation. In fact, it seemed like an excuse--

That was it.

An excuse.

After reconsidering the situation, Cheshire decided to add Jinx at the beginning. The vacation plans had been true, but Jinx had invented the story of magical sewing needles being wanted by a needle-obsessed and weak-to-long-range entity in order to get Speedy assigned. Kana had been sent to distract and delay the imaginary villain from its goal and to communicate with Cheshire in some way. Jinx had been sent afterwards to look for Speedy and Cheshire.

That made sense.

Cheshire found that she was rather irritated with Jinx for causing the assassin to doubt her own abilities, but at the same time, Cheshire also found herself touched by the effort Jinx had put in.

Then, another, more urgent, thought came to mind: she had to find Kana before anyone else did. None of the others would be so interested in that young apprentice's safety, and Cheshire was not about to let her rather spectacular record be marred by the death of an ally of sorts.

At that moment, a fire caught her attention in the distance. It was unnatural, so at least one of the others had to be there. She raced towards it, her speed quickened by the thought of losing a perfect record-- or that was what she told herself.

* * *

Now that the prey was caught, Kana left him in the trapped area before leaving to look for Cheshire. If he attempted to escape after awaking, he would be, at least, caught and delayed. He had not been a particularly intelligent opponent, but his speed had almost forced her to deviate from her plan. She smiled weakly as the thought of how close she had come to failing before she collapsed, exhausted from her exertions. She had always been more of a scholar and strategist than a combatant.

To her surprise, instead of the deliberately chosen lee of a tree, someone caught her. "Kana the Sharp," said a voice.

Kana looked up to see a cat-like mask with a chillingly wide grin. "Elder Sister Cheshire," she answered in surprise, speaking in Mandarin Chinese. Then, feeling rather abashed over her failure and the fact that someone she respected had caught her, Kana turned rather red and looked down.

A demand broke through the air. "Tell me everything." The false smile on Cheshire's mask had never seemed so welcoming before.

The apprentice nodded to her elder and began speaking of everything she knew. Kana spoke of all that had happened thus far, such as why and how she had attacked their craft by targeting a weak point that seemed intentionally made so and of how she had left a meditation circle in the sand so that Cheshire would see and know it was her. The younger girl also spoke of the fact that she had been told not to permanently injure anyone. When Kana went as far to assure Cheshire that Speedy was left unharmed and merely temporarily paralyzed in a trapped area, Cheshire seemed to scoff.

"I knew he would be unharmed."

"How?" asked Kana, though she already knew why.

Cheshire seemed mildly disapproving as she looked down at her junior through the mask. Very simply, she answered, "You have not the will to kill." All assassins knew more than their own craft. Kana had been raised to be a benevolent figurehead, just as Cheshire had been raised to be a rather persuasive orator. The difference was that persuasiveness could allow violence, but benevolence preferred… well, an assassin should never have been trained that way, but even a loose association of assassins needed a quasi-benign apparent leader for political reasons. Unfortunately, this was what happened when an assassin was given false ideals to uphold: a failed mission. Almost like an afterthought, Cheshire added aloud, "Also, the meditative circle in the sand, while it works, is too obvious. It is out of place to see a calculatingly created form in the sand on a deserted island."

The apprentice lowered her head in shame at the blunt evaluation. "What… what about the craft's weak point?"

"I know who made the weak point in the craft, Little Sister Kana, and it was not an enemy," answered Cheshire. "In fact…" her voice trailed off as she heard someone near.

* * *

"Speedy has to find something, and then he will be coming over," announced Jinx to Kid Flash.

"You found him? Great!"

"And this is Miss Jade Nguyen. We need you to take her to Jump City first."

It was rather lucky for them that Kid Flash had not as excellent a memory as one would usually have. It was, Jinx had decided long ago, the effect of going through life so quickly that he saw more than usual. A brain only had so much space to keep information, and to live life faster than usual meant that more extraneous data had to be discarded than usual. Anyways, Kid Flash glanced at the girl in question before grinning in a friendly manner. "Of course, Jinx." Then, he extended a hand to the rather young girl. For just a moment, he thought that it was odd how Miss Nguyen seemed younger than he remembered… he had thought that she was about his age, but apparently not. Then again, Asian females tended to look younger-- including his beloved India-descended Jinx.

Jinx, feeling that Kid Flash deserved something for aiding in the trickery, whether he knew of his role or not, leaned over and added in a whisper, "Wally, would you come over for some tea tomorrow?" Although a smile could not really light up, Kid Flash's renewed grin came rather close to doing so.

The pink-haired witch waved as Kid Flash disappeared with the young girl and considered what had just happened. Jinx had been going to the see the fire when she had heard voices. Upon peeking, she had heard Cheshire and what seemed to be Cheshire's junior in… assassin apprenticeship, Jinx supposed. After ascertaining that the little Japanese-Chinese hybrid meant no harm-- it was a special talent of hers to be able discern most people's origins-- the three females had shared all the needed information they had amongst themselves freely.

It had been decided that Cheshire would return to Asia in Kana's craft after Cheshire had an opportunity to see Speedy, Kana would take Cheshire's place as Jade Nguyen, and Jinx would help the deception take place, as well as making sure that Speedy did not see the replacement-Jade. Although deceit was not quite approved of by the Heroes' Code, Jinx felt that this little bit would do no harm. She was neither hero nor villain, and therefore bound to the code of neither. She was more like a streak of grey in the black-and-white painting, so a bit of deceit was not against her morals. Besides, the young girl, Kana, would probably be out of the villain's life in a few years if Jinx's guess was right, and Cheshire… well, Cheshire had not done any crime this time, not to mention that she had practically been shot out of the sky. She deserved a rest.

* * *

Speedy had spent his many hours while trapped and paralyzed thinking about certain things in his life. Originally, he had thought about a certain assassin who always seemed to leave him behind, stunned, but he began to think of other things eventually, especially what had happened just before. The girl who had trapped him could not have been out of her early teens, if even in her teens at all, considering the high voice he heard during the battle and the small frame he had seen leaping away. Of course, he knew that Gizmo, who had left a lasting impression despite not having been seen in a while, had been scouted at six years of age, if not younger. Nonetheless, having such young agents alone out on the field was highly unusual, especially a tactician-type. Speedy had been undeceived by the girl's attempts to hide her weaknesses. Even Gizmo had his ability to invent and his machinery, but the girl had just used poorly aimed needles, a few strings, and a voice trick. It was ridiculous for someone of his experience to have lost to her.

But despite the unlikelihood of such happening, he had lost.

It was abashing, because he had been well on his way to defeating her when he had gotten overconfident, thinking that she was merely a child playing with things in a real arena. He hoped that no one would ever spread this story.

Speedy was drawn out of his thoughts when he suddenly heard the sounds of someone coming closer. There were soft twangs of string traps being dismantled and an occasional thump of something falling. The paralyzed youth attempted to speak, but he could not. Instead, he waited for his rescuer to say something. A rather familiar human hand, though he could not remember whose it was, rested on his arm, and Speedy rejoiced as he imagined freedom from the paralysis serum. He waited for something to be said.

Instead, Speedy felt something stab him in his right forearm. He mentally wondered why he was getting stabbed so many times. After he felt his body loosen, he realized that it had been an antidote to the poison. "Thank… you…" he whispered. Then, he looked into the face of his savior.

A smiling mask faced him. Behind it, a green-eyed assassin was smiling, too, though he could not know.

"Cheshire?!" he gasped in surprise. He attempted to sit up, but he fell back, the effects of the paralysis not yet gone.

"You are lucky. I designed this poison myself. " She had formulated this poison herself as an early experiment years ago, so she knew the necessary antidote to use. "You are so pitiful," her quiet voice remarked as she stroked his red hair with one hand, "that I think I can forgive you for your disastrous answers last time." She sounded strangely affectionate.

Speedy groaned as he felt the familiar rake of claws across his back that told him he was about to be injured. He had very vague memories of an incident a few weeks previous where he had answered some strange questions and gotten beaten for his undesirable replies. It appeared that those recollections which he had dismissed as his imagination had really happened. And if they really had--

It astonished him when she pulled him to her for a kiss.


	8. Epilogue

Author's Note: And finally, the epilogue. Cheshire does think rather ruthlessly, but she is an assassin. Not to mention, her mind is slightly… odd when she becomes older.

**Epilogue**

Jinx opened the door for Kid Flash, who had chosen not to attempt to infiltrate her flat without her consent this time. After greeting each other, because one should always greet one's guests or hosts, the two of them went inside. There was a tea setting spread over a table, so they had tea whilst discussing recent events, such as how their strange relationship currently was, what the Teen Titans had recently done, how Speedy was behaving oddly--

"He is," insisted Kid Flash as he downed the hot tea at record speed before holding it out for more.

"He always is," scoffed Jinx as she poured more tea into her companion's cup.

As for Speedy… well, Speedy had been certain, a few days ago, that Cheshire and Jade Nguyen were the same person. But then, he had later heard and confirmed that Kid Flash had taken Jade back to Jump City, where her safety and health were verified, at the same time Speedy had shared a memorable kiss with Cheshire. Since Cheshire had disappeared soon afterwards, Speedy had tried calling on Jade just to see if his guess had been correct. Unfortunately, Jade had not been seen since Jinx took the poor girl back to her apartment and was apparently out-of-country, having a real vacation somewhere in Asia to recuperate from the aftereffects and trauma of having one's aircraft be shot and being lost on a deserted island.

He was not quite sure who he liked better, but he could not deny that Cheshire had given him an antidote to the paralysis poison the girl who fought him had used. It was curious that she had said the poison was of her design… still, she had been the one to save him.

* * *

Cheshire nodded and left her master after he gave her a choice to make. She was, as always, respectful of her longtime teacher. He had told her to go to the infirmary, see the most recent casualty, and make a decision.

From a shadow in the infirmary, Cheshire watched her cataleptic junior and contemplated the possibility of killing Kana. If Cheshire could keep a secret, someone else could find it-- but Cheshire was determined to keep hers as long as possible. The younger girl had had probably deduced the secret Cheshire had hidden so carefully by now. Kana was as notorious amongst the other apprentices for her mental capabilities as she was for her physical weaknesses. The one thing that made the others agree to tolerate Kana was her ability to think and make correct conclusions.

What Cheshire had never told Jinx was that Cheshire had already known that Speedy and Roy Harper were the same person. How could one of Cheshire's caliber not realize such a thing? Cheshire had deliberately placed herself to meet Roy Harper in a street and make his acquaintance so as to keep a closer eye on Speedy, she had explained to her teacher. Speedy had been getting too curious about her, she had said. Then, to enhance the charade, she feigned not knowing of it even to people unrelated to her teacher. He, after all, was of greater caliber than she was at the moment, and he might discover her deception.

He had found out, anyways.

Cheshire's teacher, Master Ch'eng, had told Cheshire that she could make one of two choices: she could either help to heal Kana the Sharp and thereby erase the favor Master Ch'eng owed Kana's master, or she could kill Kana and leave the matter closed until Kana's master would inevitably choose to revenge himself, whether for the insult of having his apprentice killed or the insult of thinking they could do something to affect him, at which point Master Ch'eng would kill him. But whatever was done had to be done with all effort possible. To kill meant to make it the best art she had ever performed; and not to kill meant to accomplish a full healing as was obtainable.

To kill or not to kill…

The constant silence interrupted Cheshire's thoughts. It was completely quiet. That was when danger came. She glanced over at Kana, whose face was wiped clean of the white paint the younger usually adorned herself with before entering battle. Kana's lips had a trace of metallic grey, probably the leftover of her silver. Cheshire suspected that the silver was some type of poison or mind-affecting formula which only Kana was immune to. Unfortunately, the younger would probably never have the opportunity to use it again.

The injured apprentice might never be an assassin again.

Kana would suffer permanently from the experience. A shard of an ice arrow sent from Speedy's bow had imbedded itself into her cheek below her left eye. It went unnoticed until she had lain in bed one evening, putting pressure on her face in an attempt to be rid of the pain. The shard refused to leave her body and was gradually affecting her vision in an adverse way, if the tests were true. The ice was magical, they were sure, but no one knew just where it was from. As a sign of respect and esteem, the child would be healed as much as possible and then placed somewhere strategic to the others.

Cheshire could not help but feel regretful, because Kana had been a promising student, despite her flaws.

But the secret…

Sharp claws extended to sweep them away.

* * *

A month later, Cheshire and Speedy met once more on the battlefield and proceeded to do things as they always had.

They were villain and hero, with different morals and actions, and they would both honor each other with their best performance.

Even if she had wooed and won his heart.


End file.
